Rolling mills



Jan. 5, 1965 G, E. TRAPP 3,164,044

ROLLING MILLS Filed July 14, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY G. E. TRAPP ROLLING MILLS Jan. 5, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet '2 Filed July 14, 1961 I IN VEN TOR.

650265 E. TRAPP United States Patent Ofiice Patented Jan. 5, 1965 3,1ddfi l4 RfilJLlNG MELLS George E. Trapp Eethel Perla, Ph, assigns to United Engineering and Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, 9a., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 14-, 1961, filer. No. 124,176 Claims. (-Cl. Fill-5d) This invention relates to a rolling mill and, in particular, to a novel mechanism for removing replacing the insert elements that are normally arranged between the the checks of the upper roll and the roll adjusting means of the mill in a manner to enhance the efficient removal and replacement of the rolls thereof.

The employment of insert elements between the checks of the upper roll and screwdown screws of a rolling mill is a rather common practice. These elements may take the form of simple filler pieces or they may constitute pressure measuring devices or still further they may take the form of roller-thrust bearings. Moreover, it has not been uncommon to provide a mechanism for retracting these elements from beneath the mill screws, thereby to provide openings or spaces between the checks of the adjacent roll and the bottoms of the screws. To provide such openings is quite important for increasing the degree of efiiciency for changing the working rolls of a 4-higli rolling mill, since in order otherwise to provide these openings, which are necessary to effect this result, the screws must be retracted the equivalent distance. To

accomplish this by rotating the screws of a screwdown arrangement normally incorporating low pitch threads is very time consuming.

The prior means employed for effecting a removal of the insert elements possesses certain serious disadvantages. For example, in one case, they include an elongated platform designed to extend between the mill housings and which is carried by the checks of the upper roll. Because of this construction it is necessary, in the removal of the upper roll, either to remove the platform entirely from the mill along with the insert elements or to provide means for supporting the platform and insert elements.

Moreover, in the usual construction, it is normal to form the screws with convex spherically shaped lower ends which are fitted into complementary recesses of bearing blocks, this construction being provided to compensate for the angular displacement of the Chocks when the rolls are deflected under the influence of the rolling loads. In this construction, it is necessary to raise the screws sufficiently inorder that their lower ends will clear the recesses of the bearing blocks. While in some mills the loss of time to effect such a result can be considered trivial, in others it is of such significance that it is an absolute necessity that any delay whatsoever incident thereto be avoided.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanism for removing and replacing the insert elements above referred to, which mechanism will not be supported by the chocks'or" the upper roll of the mill and hence will not require auxiliary means to support it or necessitate its bodily removal from the mill on the removal of the upper mill roll.

It is-a further object of the present invention to provide a platform. for supporting the insert elements when they are removed from beneath t e mill screws and which will be carried by and move vertically with the screws of the mill when the latter are rotated.

It is another object of the-present invention to provide a mechanism, including tracks, for supporting the insert elements when they are removed from beneath the mill screws, the tracks being carried by the mill screws and engageable by slidable hanger elements connected to the insert elements. During the rolling operation, the tracks will be retained out of contact with the screws and the hangers out of contact with the tracks, whereby both of these members will not be subject to any of the rolling loads or contacted by any moving parts.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a novel bearing block assembly in which in one case by slightly raising the screw the screw will be freed of the block so that the block may be quickly retracted to a position from beneath the screw, and in another case, without rotation of the screw, the block will be freed to permit ready removal thereof from its position beneath the screw.

These objects as well as the other novel features and advantages of the present invention will be better appreciated when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a 4-bigh rolling mill incorporating the features of the invention herein disclosed, the various elements of the mill not having an immediate cooperative relationship with the elements of the present invention being shown only in outline form;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the insert element manipulao ing device incorporating the features of the present invention, certain members of the mill, including the mill screws, being omitted for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational View of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is a partial outside end view of the device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, tarcen on lines lVa-lVa of FIG. 2 and illustrating the relationship of the parts when the insert element is ready for removal out from beneath the mill screws, and

FIG. 4b is a view similar to FIG. 4a, but in section, taken on lines IVb-lVb of FlG. 2 illustrating the relationship of the parts during the rolling operation.

The Rolling Mill With reference to FIG. 1, there is illustrated in outline form a 4-high rolling mill comprising spaced apart vertically extending housings El and 12 designed to rotatably support working rolls i3 and M and backingup rolls l5 and 1a which engage and support the working rolls, both sets of rolls being received in the windows of the housings in the customary manner. in view of the fact that the present invention, in its preferred form,

is designed to cooperate only with the upper backing-up roll 15, it is believed only necessary to make reference to the elements of the mill that are immediately significant in connection with the operation of the backing-up roll 15, and for which reason particurar reference will not be made to a number or" the other elements of the mill.

As is customary, the backing-up roll 15 is equipped with bearing-chock assemblies 17 and 18 (hereinafter referred to simply as checks) arranged on the journals of the roll. As best shown on the left hand side of FIG. 1, and in FIGS. 4a and 4b, vertically arranged mill screws 19 and 2d are provided which represent the pass adjusting means for the upper rolls, and for which reason, in the customary fashion, individual worm and wheel sets 21 are provided, being driven by means not shown.

Also, according to the teaching of known rolling mill technology, a roll balance mechanism is provided, being shown only in FIG. 1, which in the illustrated construction consists of an hydraulic piston cylinder assembly 22, carried by the housings 11 and 12, a cross member 23 to which there are connected vertically extending links'24. The links terminate in horizontally disposed arms 25, the latter extending into the windows of the' housings and being provided with projecting surfaces that engage with complementary surfaces formed on the backing-up roll chocks 17 and 13. By this mechanism, an upward force is imposed on chocks 17 and 18 thus to maintain them in contact with the screws 19 and 20.

The Insert Elements of the Present Invention With reference again to FIG. 1, it will be observed that there are arranged between the lower surfaces of each screw i9 and Z and the upper surfaces of their cooperating chocks 17 and 18 insert elements 26 and 27, respectively. In FIGS. 4a and 4b, there is illustrated in detail the configuration of the lower portion of the screw 19 and the insert element 26 (the other screw 2i and insert element 27 being similar in construction), and it will be noted in FIG. 412 that the insert element comprises a cylindrically shaped cartridge 23 having a solid circular base member 29 which is engaged by the chock 17 of the backing-up roll 15. Within the cartridge 23 as shown in FIG. 4b, there is incorporated a vertical disposed thrusbroller bearing consisting of two oppositely arranged roller bearing retaining rings 3% and 31, each ring having complementary tapered surfaces for receiving and retaining the freely rotatable tapered rollers 32 of the bearing. As shown, the ring 30 is secured to and carried by the base member 29 of the cartridge 28. The ring 31 is secured to a pressure block seat 33 which constitutes a part of the bearing and which, in turn, is rotatably carried by the rollers 32. The pressure block seat 33 is restrained from moving lOHgiit1di* nally by being provided with a central annular recess 34 at its lower end and into which recess projects a corresponding annular portion 35 of the base member 29, there being provided a circular bushing 36 between the vertical adjacent surfaces of the projecting portion 35 and the recess 34 to take care of any frictional force which may be generated by engagement of these surfaces.

It is one of the features of the present invention that the upper side of the pressure block seat 33 be formed with a spherical convex shaped surface, which surface is engaged by a complementary concave shaped surface formed on the lower side of a pressure block 37. The surface on the upper side of the pressure block 37 is made flat and is engaged by a complementary flat surface formed on the lower end of the screw 19.

The significance of this arrangement, which will be more evident after reading the remainder of the specification, resides in the construct-ion provided. whereby in one case the insert elements can be removed from beneath the screws after a very minimum amount of rotation thereof and in another case with no rotation. In

fact that the screws are not formed to cooperate with spherical connections, which is normally the case in present day mill designs, but instead they are provided with flat surfaces on their lower ends, once the insert ele-' ments are lowered slightly away from the screws or conversely the screws raised slightly relative to the insert elements, the insert elements can be retracted immediately from beneath the screws.

It will be noted in FIG. 4a that the screw 19 is provided with an annular recess 38, including a collar portion 39, immediately above its lower end and the top of the cartridge 28 has secured to its vertical Wall a seal retainer ring 40, the purposes of which will be explained later.

The Insert Element Manipulating Device of the Present Invention .Reference is now made to the device embodied in the present invention as an improved means for quickly and eiiiciently removing and replacing the insert elements 26 and 27 relative to their operative positions beneath the screws 19 and 24 thereby to permit, in one case, the backing-up roll chocks 17 and 13 to be quickly raised in the eventthe working rolls are to be changed and,

in another case, where the backing-up rolls are to be changed, to provide supporting means for the insert elements which will not be required to be removed from the mill or supported by auxiliary means. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention provides a horizontally extending platform 41, which for convenience of manufacture and assembly is made up of two symmetrical pieces, which are connected together by a series of bolts 42 to create a unitary rigid member, the member being further strengthened by the utilization of parallel reinforcing means 43 connected to the bottom surfaces of the platform and extendable along the two opposite sides thereof for the entire length. Each half of the platform 41, when assembled, forms two circular apertures and the thickness of the platform at being such that the circular portions of the platform formed by the apertures will loosely fit into the circular recesses 38 (see FIG. 4b) of the screws 19 and 2t} and the bottom surface thereof will come to rest on a collar portion 39 of the screws during manipulation of the insert elements.

As shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b the relative vertical dimensions of the recesses 38 of the screws and the cooperating annular portions of the platform 41 are such that during the rolling operation the upper and lower horizontal surfaces of the platform will not contact the similar adjacent surfaces of the recesses. With respect to this construction, it will be noted in FIGS. 4a and 4b that the apertures 44 of the platform 41 are provided with ring shaped bushings 45, which extend around the lower surfaces of the platform and are engaged by the upper horizontal surfaces of the collar portions 35 Also, it will be noted that clearances are provided between the adjacent vertical surfaces of the bushings 45 of the platform and screws 19 and 2th.

The insert elements 2s and 27 are suspended from and carried by the platform 41, for which purpose inverted L-shaped hangers 46 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 2- and 4a, each insert element 26 and 27 is pro vided with horizontal projections 47 extending tangentially and parallel to the long sides of the platform 41 to which are secured the hangers 46 by bolts 48 and keys 49. Each insert element is equipped with two pairs of hangers. As best shown in FIGS. 4:: and 4b, the upper ends of the hangers are provided with bearing lined surfaces which engage tracks 5%) formed on the platform 41 and over which the hangers are designed to slide on the horizontal movement of the insert elements 26 and 27. Two pairs of parallel horizontally extending piston cylinder assemblies 51 are provided, their cylinder ends being connected to projections 52 of the platform 41 and their piston ends secured to brackets 53, which, in turn, are secured to the outer most positioned hangers. These cylinder assemblies are operated in unison to manipulate the insert elements 26 and 27 from their operative positions beneath the screws 19 and 20 to an inoperative position from beneath the screws and toward the center of the mill.

With reference again to the rings it as best shown in PEG-S. 4a and 4b, it will be noted that they are of sufiicient width to extend to a position beneath the bottom surface of the re-enforcing members 43 of the platform 43. To the overlappirv position of the rings 40, wear rings 54 are secured, being of sutlicient thickness to bring the top surfaces of the wear rings Within close proximity to the bottom surfaces of the re-enforcing members 43, while at the same time during the rolling operation being separated therefrom. The particular significance of this construction is to be more fully explained hereinafter.

From the above description it will be observed that it is a feature of the present invention to mount the platform 41 on the screws 19 and 26, from which construction there are obtained two very important advantages. First of all, since the platform 41 is carried by the screws 1? and 2% when the backing-up roll 15 is removed there is no necessity of removing the platform bodily from the mill as is the case where the platform is carried by the top backing-up roll chocks. Secondly, in view of the fact that the platform is carried by the screws, the insert elements 26 and 27 will always be properly positioned with respect to the lower ends of the screws and may be brought into a position underneath the screws without the necessity of first ascertaining whether the screws have been raised sufiiciently to permit this to be done. This, of course, has the efiect of additionally speeding up the operation of roll changing and avoids the danger of damaging the parts which occurs frequently in prior designs when through inadvertence an attempt is made to move the insert elements underneath the screws without providing the required spacing to permit this to be done.

It is also an important feature of the present invention to provide a construction whereby when the mill is in operation the platform 41 will be maintained out of engagement with the screws 19 and 26 and the hangers 46 maintained out of engagement with the platform. With respect to the former this is desirable in order to prevent unnecessary wear of the screws and platform, whereas with respect to the latter it is desirable to avoid transmitting any rolling loads to the hanger 46 and the platform 41. In this connection, particular reference is directed to FIG. 412 wherein the relative positions of the parts during the rolling operation is illustrated and to FlG. 4a wherein the relative positions of the same parts are illustrated during the operation for retracting or replacing the insert elements.

With respect first to the relative positions of the parts during operation of the rolling mill, as shown in FIG. 4b, the lower ends of the screws 19 and 20 will, of course, be in engagement with the upper surfaces of the pressure blocks 37, and the lower surfaces of the base members 29 of the cartridges 28 will be in engagement with the upper adjacent surfaces of the checks 17 and 18 of the backingup roll 15. When these elements are in these positions, it will be no rubbing action between the horizontal sur tainer rings 40 will have engaged the lower surfaces of the re-enforcing members 43 of the platform 41, thereby to lift the latter out of engagement with collar portions 39 of the screws 19 and 29. Hence, during operation of the screws to effect pass adjustment of the rolls, there will be no rubbing action between the horizontal surfaces of the screws and platform. With respect to the relative positions of the platform and hangers 46 during the rolling operation, it will be observed that the aggregate heights of the cartridges 28 and the hangers 46 are such that in the rolling operation position clearances are provided between the horizontal adjacent surfaces of the tracks 50 of the platform 41 and the sliding surfaces of the hangers. Consequently, the rolling'loads imposed on the cartridges 28 are taken entirely through the insert elements 26 and 27 and are not imposed upon the hangers 46.

With respect to the relative positions of the parts during the retracting or replacement operation of the insert elements and with reference to FIG. 40, it will be observed that by raising the screws 19 and 20 so as to separate their lower surfaces from the bearing blocks 37 a distance sufficient to take up the clearances between the platform 41 and the collar portions 3% of the screws, on further travel of the screws, the platform will be caused to move vertically with the screws and as a result the reenforcing members 43 of the platform will be raised out of engagement with the wear rings 54, At the same time, the tracks 50 will be brought into engagement with the sliding surfaces of the hangers 46. After this initial travel of the screws take place, an additional slight rotation of the screws will raise the hangers 46 and hence cause the base members 29 of the cartridges 28 to be disengaged from the checks 1'7 and 18, thereby freeing the insert elements to permit their removal from beneath the screws by operation of the piston cylinder assemblies 51. It is of interest to point out in this respect that in an actual embodiment of the present invention wherein the mill screw speed was 1" per minute, the device was so designed as to have during the operation of the mill a clearance between the tracks 50 of the platform 41 and the hangers 46, with a similar amount of clearance being provided between the platform and the collar portions 39 of the screws 19 and 29. By rotating the screws an amount slightly more than A of a revolution, the insert elements were freed to be moved to their inoperative positions.

With reference briefly to the operation of changing of the working rolls of a mill incorporating the features of the present invention, assuming that all the necessary disconnections of piping and the like have been accomplished, it is a simple matter to rotate the screws 19 and 2t? slightly to free the insert elements 26 from the chocks 17 and 18 of the backing-up roll 15 and to operate the piston cylinder assemblies 51 to cause the insert elements 26 and 27 to be retracted in unison to their inoperative positions. Of course, when the new working rolls have been inserted in the mill, repositioning of the insert elements 26 and 27 may be quickly and effectively accomplished by the reverse operation of the piston cylinder assemblies 51 since, as previously explained, the insert elements, being carried by the screws, will always be in the proper horizontal relationship with the lower end of the screws 19 and 2%. As the screws are lowered to cause the insert elements to engage the backing-up roll chocks l7 and 18, the platform will be automatically raised from engagement with the screws and the hangers 46 will automatically be disengaged from the tracks 59 It is also appreciated that should the maximum space between the adjacent faces of the workingroll, i.e., the passing opening, be great enough to provide the necessary opening between the backing-up rolls and the working 'rolls to permit roll changing of the latter, then, in this event, there would be no need to raise the screws to free the insert elements for their removal. In this case the hydraulic piston cylinder assembly 22 (FIG. 1) will be operated to permit the backing-up roll 15 to lower itself to the extent to permit the insert elements 26 and 27 to fall away from the screws by their own weight a distance sulficient to take up the clearance of the manipulating element and a slight bit more to separatethe lower surfaces of the insert elements from the chocks 17 and 18.

With respect to the changing of the backing-up roll 15 of the mill illustrated in FIG. 1, as previously pointed out, there will be no need to remove the platform 41 from the mill or the insert elements 26 and 27 as waspreviously the case in prior mills, since the platform and the insert elements are carriedby the screws 19 and 20.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes,

I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim: 1. For use in combination with a rolling mill housing;

a pair of rolls arranged in said housing; roll adjusting means for at least one of said rolls mounted in said housing for moving said one roll toward and away from the other; aninsert element arranged between and cooperating with said roll adjusting means and the adjustable roll; apparatus comprising:

a platform for carrying said insert element and supported by said roll adjusting means, and means for moving said insert element from be tween said roll adjusting means and said adjustable roll to a position Where said element is carried by said platform.

having a 2. For use in combination with a rolling mill having a pair of'spaced apart housings;

a pair of rolls arranged in said housing;

a pair of roll adjusting means for at least one of said rolls mounted in said housings for moving said one roll toward and away from the other;

insert elements arranged between and cooperating with each of said roll adjusting means and the adjustable roll;

apparaus comprising:

a platform extending between said pair of housings and having the opposite ends thereof carried by and movable with said roll adjusting means;

means for connecting said insert elements to said platform, and

means carried by said platform and secured to said insert elements for moving said latter elements from between said roll adjusting means and said adjustable roll to a position where said ele ments will be carried by said platform.

3. Apparatus for use in conjunction with a rolling mill according to claim 2;

in which said roll adjusting means includes screws;

said platform secured to the lower ends of and supported by said screws, and 7 tracks formed on said platform and engaged by said connecting means.

4. Apparatus for use in conjunction with a rolling mill according to claim 3;

in which said connecting mean comprises hanger elements secured to each insert element, and

said hanger elements so formed as to engage with said tracks for slidable movement therealong.

5. Apparatus for use in conjunction with a rolling mill having a housing;

a pair of rolls arranged in said housing;

a pair of screws arranged in said housing for adjusting at least one ,of said roils toward and away from the other;

said screws having flat surfaces at their lower ends;

an insert element including a cooperative roller hearing and a filler element arranged between the adjustable roll and each of said screws;

each hearing having spherical surfaces;

each filler element having a flat surface on one side thereof and a spherical surface on the other side thereof in which the flat surfaces of the elements are engaged by the flat surfaces of said screws and the spherical surfaces of the elements are engaged by the spherical surfaces of the bearings, and

means for retracting the insert elements from beneath the screws and for supporting them in their retracted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,084,107 Pisarcik Jan. 13, 1914 1,697,012 Kronenberg Jan. 1, 1929 1,762,292 George June 10, 1930 2,181,173 Catulle Nov 28, 1939 2,525,687 Kritscher Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,164,044 v January 5, 1965 George E. Trapp It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 5, lines 37 and 38, strike out "no rubbing action between the horizontal surtainer", and insert instead observed that the wear rings 5401? the seal retainer Signed and sealed this 1st day of June 1965.

(SEAL) Altest;

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents 

1. FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH A ROLLING MILL HAVING A HOUSING; A PAIR OF ROLLS ARRANGED IN SAID HOUSING; ROLL ADJUSTING MEANS FOR AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROLLS MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING FOR MOVING SAID ONE ROLL TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE OTHER; AN INSERT ELEMENT ARRANGED BETWEEN AND COOPERATING WITH SAID ROLL ADJUSTING MEANS AND THE ADJUSTABLE ROLL; APPARATUS COMPRISING A PLATFORM FOR CARRYING SAID INSERT ELEMENT AND SUPPORTED BY SAID ROLL ADJUSTING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID INSERT ELEMENT FROM BETWEEN SAID ROLL ADJUSTING MEANS AND SAID ADJUSTABLE ROLL TO A POSITION WHERE SAID ELEMENT IS CARRIED BY SAID PLATFORM. 